Reverend Ridgeway William NewlandPrint Page

The Newland Memorial Congregational Church commemorates Reverend Ridgeway William Newland who arrived in Encounter Bay with 34 settlers in 1839. The church replaced the original Congregational Memorial Church which was erected in 1868 and is now the Uniting Church Hall. The foundation stone for the church was laid on Easter Saturday 1927.

There is an inscription on the new church which reads "To the Glory of God and in memory of the Reverend R. W. Newland and of his son Simpson Newland C. M. G."  Simpson Newland was the son of Reverend Newland and the member for Encounter Bay in the South Australian House of Assembly (1881-1887). He died in 1925 and left a bequest to the church of £500. 

Selected by the Colonial Missionary Society to form a settlement in South Australia, Ridgeway Newland sailed in the Sir Charles Forbes with some thirty colonists, including his second wife, who cared for her three young children and five of Newland`s first marriage.

The party arrived in Adelaide in June 1839 and went on ithe "Lord Hobart" to Encounter Bay, where a large area of land was taken up. Newland was also the unpaid pastor of the south, riding long distances to preach and minister to scattered settlers. His chapel at Encounter Bay was opened in 1846, and other places of worship were established by him. Returning from one preaching visit to Adelaide and Willunga, his coach capsized and he was fatally injured. He died on 9 March 1864. He was buried in a vault beneath the pulpit of his chapel and later reinterred in the Victor Harbor cemetery.

Note: The former Congregational Church is now the Uniting Church.

The services in connection with the inauguration of the Newland Memorial Church took place on Sunday, March 8, and on the Tuesday following. The Church is erected in memory of the Rev. Ridgeway William Newland, devoted minister of the Gospel, who labored for many years in the district of Encounter Pay and the surrounding neighborhood, and who by his earnestness and self-devotedness to the religions, social, and municipal well-being of.the people of the South was most highly venerated; and who won for himself a place in the affectionate memories of the people there. Four years ago Mr. Newland, whilst returning from Adelaide to his home, met with an accident which terminated fatally. The feelings of regret for his death and also of affection to his memory led the inhabitants to take steps to perpetuate his name. It was thought that it would be more consonant with the feelings of the departed gentleman, and more useful to the inhabitants of the districts, if the memorial should be one connected with the religious work to which he had devoted his life. It was thereupon determined to erect a church, and steps were taken to inaugurate the.movement. After the lapse of several year the work had a prospect of a commencement, and it was felt becoming that the Memorial Church should be inaugurated with appropriate ceremony.
Excerpt from The South Australian Advertiser (SA), 12 March 1868. 

Tenders have been accepted for the erection of a new church as Victor Harbour, to be called the Newland Memorial, in honor of the Newland family who have been prominently identified with the town for several generations.  The successful tenderer was Mr. F. R. Fricker, of Queenstown, at £8,200 and he expects to have the building finished in eight or nine months. The foundation stone will be laid early in the new year.
The Advertiser (Adelaide), 3 December 1926.

The commodious new church at Victor Harbour will be opened at 2.45 p.m. on Saturday by Dr. H. S. Newland. A dedication service will be held at 3pm. On Sunday special services will be conducted the pastor and the chairman of the Congregational Union.
The Advertiser (Adelaide), 20 October 1927.

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Dedication